


Breath

by 11peach_bunny11



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blue is best girl, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lance (Voltron) Has Panic Attacks, Langst, Mind Meld, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, but its still there, don't you just love using the mind meld device to further your plot, everyone is so stressed, lance keeping secrets, mermaid lance, my poor poor boi, nothing graphic, paranoid Lance, plot being angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11peach_bunny11/pseuds/11peach_bunny11
Summary: As he walked along, humming an old tune to himself, a sharp, shooting pain raced up his legs, far worse than anything he’d dealt with before. He gasped, collapsing to the floor as black spots clouded his vision. On hands and knees, Lance took in gasping breaths as pain overtook his lower half. Slowly, the pain lessened until it was only marginally worse than what he was used to by now. Blinking the spots away, Lance shakily stood. “Well. That can’t be good,” he murmured to himself. He took one, then two experimental steps. When the pain didn’t lessen nor rise, he took in a deep breath, placed a shaky smile on his face, and continued on.Or, Lance is a merman who's been away from water for far too long.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 291





	Breath

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Hello!
> 
> This was sitting in my google drive for two years and now that I have some time on my hands I finally decided to finish it. Yay!
> 
> I don't usually do angst, so this was an interesting time for me. 
> 
> Please read the tags. Stay safe!

_Sunlight filtered down from above, dancing through the ocean waves and across Lance’s skin. Surrounded by blue on all sides, Lance couldn’t help but take in a deep breath and relax every muscle in his body. His bones became jello as he floated to and fro within the ocean's pull. He was finally home, after so long… he’d finally made it. As Lance began to close his eyes, the warmth creating such a strong need for sleep, a sharp pain spiked up his legs. He jerked awake, grabbing at his legs. The pain was intense, stinging, causing every muscle in his body to lock tightly. The warmth was no longer relaxing, but uncomfortable, making his skin itch like it was trying to leave him. Lance took in shuddering breaths as a mass of black attacked him from all sides._

_Lance couldn’t help but squint as sunlight viciously attacked his eyes, burning his skin as tears traveled down his cheeks. He was on the god forsaken ship again and fear swam in the pit of his stomach. ‘No, no, no, no--not this again,’ he thought as hands tugged and pushed him on all sides. His own hands were tied behind his back and he could smell alcohol mixed with salt in the air. “You ready to take a dip, pretty boy?” Someone whispered in his ear. He would’ve screamed if he could, but the cloth shoved between his teeth prevented him. They walked him to the edge of the boat and he watched as the water viciously smacked against the side of the ship. Lance’s eyes locked onto the water below, the waves seeming like they’d eat him alive. Suddenly, the pirates behind him pushed him overboard, heartlessly, cruelly. He could see the smirks on their faces, see the sadistic joy in their eyes as he fell backwards into the ocean’s embrace. As he slammed into the water he couldn’t help the squeak that left him. The cold shocked his body before engulfing every fiber of his being. Faintly, he could hear laughter echoing down from above._

_Lance sunk slowly, the cold having sapped all of his energy and the darkness making it hard to tell which way was up and which way was down. Water painfully flooded his lungs, burning its way down his throat._

_‘This is how I die,’ he thought to himself. He felt… sad, but also so happy. In a way, this was an escape. He was finally free of his tormentors above. As his eyes began to close something flashed to his left…_

Lance awoke with a gasp, clutching his blanket tightly in his hands. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he worked overdrive to reoriented himself. “Lions, castle, space, war,” he quietly murmured to himself, rubbing his hands along the fabric of his blanket to help remind himself where he was. He could still feel the water in his lungs, feel the push on his back that sent him to his almost death. The pain in his legs was still there, but he’d become accustomed to that by now. Looking at the clock Pidge had made him, he realized he’d awoken far too early, as always. He allowed himself some time to sit, to breath, collecting himself slowly before pushing himself out of bed and into his bathroom when he felt he could actually stand. 

The shower was unsatisfying. Unlike Earth, Altean’s showered with a different kind of liquid. Tinted purple, a little sour, and definitely not water, it could do nothing to relieve Lance’s pain. He finished quickly and hopped out, not being able to bear the expectation that the shower would help relieve some of his pain… only for it to not. Looking over himself in the mirror, he quickly noticed he’d gotten paler while his markings had become much darker, appearing almost like bruises. He looked down at his body, the swirling designs that covered him from head to toe, usually a beautiful and ethereal compliment to his tan skin, now a stark contrast. He wondered how much longer he was going to last… 

Lance shook his head. “No, don’t go down that path. You’ll figure something out. You always do,” he mumbled to himself. “No need to be emo like Keith.” He chuckled lightly before beginning his skin routine. Once he’d finished up and washed away the blue gooey mask that always stuck to his sink, he slipped on his clothes and headed down to the kitchen. 

When he got there, he paused in the doorway. 

Allura sat at the table, a blanket draped gracefully around her shoulders and a cup of something steaming in her hands. She was staring at the wall, a blank look on her face. Lance smiled sadly, knowing exactly what had happened. She always got that look when she’d awoken from a nightmare. He’d run into her in the kitchen enough times to know that by now. He knocked lightly on the doorway, causing Allura to jump slightly. She looked over to him, the blank look clearing from her face.  
“Oh, hello Lance. I didn’t see you there,” she greeted.

“Hello to you too, beautiful,” he replied easily as he walked into the kitchen. He ignored Allura’s eye roll, instead crossing the dining area and going straight into the kitchen. He opened up one of the many cabinets and grabbed plates from the inside for each member of their little makeshift family. He walked back into the table, setting plates down at each chair before going back to grab silverware. As he worked, Allura watched him with a curious look on her face. Lance elected to ignore the look--he was much more focused on finding a way to carry all the cups in one trip instead of two. Finally, Allura spoke her mind.

“Why do you always… set the table, as you like to say,” she asked as Lance placed a cup in front of her. He gave her a grin before moving on to the next spot.

“Oh, well, that’s an easy one. I come from a pretty big family, and it’s always been my job as the oldest to help set the table. Mama comes and wakes me up a bit earlier than everyone else and has me help her out,” he explained, his fingers lingering on a fork, “I guess… some habits are hard to break,” he said as he tried to give her a smile, though he fell a bit flat as he got lost in the memories of the family he’d left behind on Earth. Allura nodded slowly.

“That’s very sweet.” Lance hummed in agreement, placing the last cup down just as Hunk walked in. 

“Hey guys,” he greeted with a yawn. 

“Hey big man! Mah favorite dude, are you cooking today?” Lance asked excitedly, the bittersweetness that had been surrounding him quickly disappearing as he followed Hunk into the kitchen. Hunk gave a slow nod, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Yeah, I was thinking space pancakes,” he said, grabbing a pan as Lance hopped up onto the counter, “I’m hoping to cheer the team up a little…” he trailed off, giving Lance a knowing look. They’d talked often about how the team was doing, usually during the middle of the night when one of them just couldn’t get to sleep, and both had agreed that everyone had been, well, a ‘little’ stressed out (read: so extremely stressed that it was leading to some concerning habits). Allura piped up then.

“What do you mean Hunk? Everyone seems fine to me.” Lance gave her a look, eyebrows high while frowning slightly. 

“Allura, you know you’re included in the team too, right?” He asked. Allura looked at him sharply, eyes widening a bit in shock before he shook his head and continued. “Besides you, Pidge has been working non stop on her computer and Hunk and I have to force her to get any sleep,” he ticked away with one finger, “Keith spends all his free time training, which, yes is kinda great for him physically but can't be good for him emotionally,” another finger goes down, “Shiro has been having nightmares as well as little sleepwalking adventures--which means Hunk and I have to steer him back to bed… ” 

Lance never mentioned the times he’d done so alone, having to fight Shiro to bed by himself. Granted Shiro’s coordination isn’t the best when asleep, so Lance managed. (But there were some close calls, and Lance swore to himself he’d never tell anyone how he was just slightly scared of Shiro--he’d felt that metal hand around his neck and he never wanted to again). 

“... and Hunk and I… well we’re managing,” Lance finished, locking eyes with Hunk. They were both doing a little worse than ‘managing,’ but neither was willing to admit so, at least, not in front of others. Allura took this all in and looked into her cup, eyes swelling with a mix of emotions.

“I hadn’t noticed,” she whispered.

“Well! That’s not your fault, Princess! You’ve been focusing on the war-- which is very important,” Lance defended from his spot on the kitchen counter. She nodded slowly, but Lance could tell his words didn't help much. He frowned, not liking that he had caused her even more stress. 

“The first batch is done!” Hunk said, breaking the tension as he brought a plate full of perfect purple circles, which… kinda looked like pancakes if you squinted, to the table. Lance hopped off the counter and ran to the door.

“I’ll grab the others!” He yelled as he skidded out of the kitchen and down the hallway. As he walked along, humming an old tune to himself, a sharp, shooting pain raced up his legs, far worse than anything he’d dealt with before. He gasped, collapsing to the floor as black spots clouded his vision. On hands and knees, Lance took in gasping breaths as pain overtook his lower half. Slowly, the pain lessened until it was only marginally worse than what he was used to by now. Blinking the spots away, Lance shakily stood. “Well. That can’t be good,” he murmured to himself. He took one, then two experimental steps. When the pain didn’t lessen nor rise, he took in a deep breath, placed a shaky smile on his face, and continued on. 

Breakfast was ready, and the other’s needed Hunk’s ‘cheer up’ pancakes more than anything right now. 

~+~

Lance stumbled down the hallway, hands pressed against the wall to help stop himself from falling to the ground. In a way, he was kind of thankful that the team was so screwed up, because in a way it meant they were all extremely reliable. Right then, Pidge was definitely in the lab working on some coding stuff, Keith was training alone in the training room, Shiro was mediating in his room, Hunk was trying to fall asleep, and Coran was helping Allura in her room. Lance knew with a 100% certainty that that was where everyone was, and so with that certainty he was also certain that no one was going to find him stumbling through the hallways like this. 

Lance’s vision went in and out, causing the headache that was pounding away in his skull to steadily worsen. His breathing stuttered for a moment as he tried desperately to collect himself. 

“Almost there,” he murmured to himself. After a bit more stumbling, and one close call, Lance finally reached the hanger door. He gave himself a small smile. “Knew I could make it,” he sighed, flashing back to all the previous nights he’d managed to get to Blue.

‘I just need to get to Blue, then everything will be fine,’ he thought to himself as the hanger doors opened and he stumbled inside. 

He didn’t remember how, but somehow he managed to get over to Blue and up into her cockpit without falling flat on his face. 

“Hi Blue,” he mumbled out as he curled up in the pilot's chair. He pulled his aching legs close to him, but didn’t dare touch them anymore then he needed to. Any contact with his legs made him want to collapse right on the spot. 

Despite his foggy mind, he could still hear Blue loud and clear. She rumbled around him, concern and fear flooding their bond. Lance pushed back with reassurance, trying his best to sooth this lion. 

“Imma fine Blue. No need to worry about me,” he said quietly, letting his eyes drift close.

Blue pushed back, sending images of him and the team, then him in the ocean. It was clear what she was saying, what she desperately wanted her pilot to do. Lance hummed, a small smile crossing his face as his head lulled to the side.

“You’re too good for me Blue. What would I do without you,” he whispered, shoving the images down and away. 

Lance… just couldn’t. He knew time was running thin, the pain radiating from his legs an all to clear symbol of that… but… 

‘What if they put you in a tank, never to see the light again? What if they drain you of your blood? What if they cut into your skin to see how much you can take? What if they take your eyes? What if--”

Lance’s face contorted, fear blooming fast and steady in his chest. Decades old fear crashed through his body. 

‘Humans could never be trusted--just look at their legends. Look at what they think of you. Your blood can grant them immortality, why wouldn’t they want to try?’

Lance’s breathing picked up speed and tears weld in the corners of his eyes. He knew the team would never. They would never treat him that way. They loved him, and he loved them too but… 

Lance couldn’t breath. His eyes shot open, his heart pounding away in his chest as thoughts he’d had a million times over rushed through his brain. His hands clawed their way to his throat as his legs kicked out. He couldn’t breath, he couldn’t breath, he couldn’t breath. It was just like when he’d died, ocean water flooding his lungs while he sunk to the ocean floor. Lance felt wetness drip down his cheeks, felt his lungs seizing in his chest, his heart pounding away in his veins, when a sudden warmth filled his chest. A soothing feeling spread through his body. Slowly, oh so slowly, Lance relaxed back into his seat.

Blue continued to steadily push reassurance through their bond, soothing her panicking cub until he could finally catch his breath. 

He couldn’t tell them. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t tell them. 

Some habits were just too hard to break.

“Can you…” he asked, trailing off at the end as the sounds of the ocean immediately played in his ears. Blue and him had done this so many times at this point he didn’t even need to ask anymore. 

Lance’s body relaxed instantly, exhaustion helping his limbs go limp. The music of the ocean plus Blue’s pressense created the perfect atmosphere for Lance to relax, and he could feel his eyelids droop downwards. Sleep quickly snared him, but Lance wasn’t worried. 

He could never have nightmares when he was in Blue. 

~+~

“Alright team, for today's exercise we’ll be working with the mind-meld,” Allura said as she clapped her hands together, a smile settling easily on her face. Everyone collectively grimaced, nobody liking the idea of having the others in their head. Lance scrunched his nose up. He’d survived these before, he could do it again, but a gnawing panic settled easily into his bones anyway, and he could feel his hands begin to sweat. 

“Really Princess?” Pidge bemoaned beside him, and Lance couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his face. 

“As members of Voltron, we cannot keep secrets from one another, and so today will be about opening up,” Allura countered. Lance’s stomach flipped a little, but he reassured himself again. He had hundreds of years worth of memories, and he was sure he could direct the others to what he wanted them to see. 

The team took their places on the mats, all trying to not look each other in the eye. This wasn’t fun for any of them. Allura handed the headset out, then took her place next to Shiro. “Let’s begin,” she said.

Lance pushed his modern day memories up to the front as fast as he could, hoping no one noticed as he tucked away the more private things into the deep recesses of his mind. He felt Hunk brush by, then Keith. Once he was satisfied in knowing they were caught up in the memories he wanted them to see, he went out exploring on his own. First he brushed by Hunk, though it was only a cursory glance and nothing he hadn’t seen already. Hunk playing on the beach with his Moms. Hunk being bullied in school for his weight. Hunk getting into the Galaxy Garrison. 

It was all things they’d already seen before and talked about, which was perfectly fine with him. To be honest, Lance hated this with every fiber of his being. He didn’t want to go snooping around in the others heads. He knew he valued his privacy, so he tried to give that in return. He would glance at what the others were fine with him seeing, and then move on. 

After Hunk he moved to Keith, seeing the hut in the desert, Keith messing with his bike. He was about to move on, knowing out of all of them Keith was likely the one to share his absolute hatred of this when… 

_“Come here you little brat!” A gruff voice called out. Lance couldn’t help but shiver, that tone of voice echoing back to his own past. A hand was suddenly around his throat, pulling him out of the cupboard he’d been hiding in--wait, no. The cupboard Keith had been hiding in. “There you are,” a man sneered. His face was too blurry for Lance to see any details, but the smell of alcohol on his breath was as clear as day. Lance could feel tears welling up in his eyes, a tightness forming in his chest._

_‘No, no, no, no,’ he chanted in his mind. This was all too familiar to him._

_“Thought you could get away from me?” The man whispered by his ear. “I’ll teach you a thing or two,” he said as he raised his arm, swinging it down and--_

“No!” Keith yelled, startling everyone out of the memory. Lance’s eyes shot open, locking on to Keith’s. 

He looked… so angry.

“Wait, Keith I didn’t mean to--”

But it was too late. Keith dug deep into Lance’s mind, far past the place he wanted any of them to go. Before he could stop him, warn him, everyone was dragged back under.

_“Thought you could get away from me?” Andrew whispered by his ear, dark eyes locking onto Lance’s. Lance shook his head quickly, tears running down his face. A hand caressed his cheek. “Oh pretty boy, look at what they did to your face. Those men, always so rough.” He chuckled, and Lance felt his lungs constrict as Andrew pressed into one of the many bruises that were quickly forming on his face. “Don’t worry, after I teach you a thing or two you won’t have to worry about them anymore.” He said as he trailed his hand down to Lance’s neck, lightly wrapping around it as his other hand slid up Lance’s shirt and--_

Lance ripped the headset off, tears falling down his face. He couldn’t let them see more then that. They didn’t deserve to go through that. Lance didn’t need to look up to know everyone was staring at him. He wiped at his eyes while desperately trying to get his breathing back under control. “I’m sorry,” he coughed out, looking up to lock eyes with Keith.

Keith startled, eyes widening as he took in Lance’s words. “W… what?” He couldn’t help but whisper out. 

“Sorry,” Lance croaked again. “I shouldn’t have let you see that. I thought I’d buried that pretty well but it looks like I didn't. My bad,” he said with a watery smile. Lance struggled up to his feet, arms unconsciously wrapping around himself. He looked around the circle, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “Sorry, again,” he said, arms tightening. “I’m going… I’m going to be in my room for a bit. Um,” tears welled up in his eyes again, “don’t worry about me,” he whispered out, spinning quickly on his heels before rushing out the door.

“Wait--Lance!” Shiro called after, but Lance wouldn’t--he couldn’t. 

He needed to be alone for a bit. 

~+~ 

_Lance squirmed on the bed he was pinned to, hands seeming to cover every inch of his body--touching, pinching, squeezing. Tears poured down his cheeks, blurring his vision as he desperately looked around the cabin for escape._

_“Pretty boy,” Andrew whispered into his ear, causing a shudder to run down Lance’s spine. “Pretty boy, focus,” he commanded, grabbing Lance’s chin and forcing him to meet his eyes._

_‘No, no, no, no,’ Lance chanted in his mind, eyes widening with fear. ‘God please,’ he prayed, ‘God please let this end.’_

_Andrew smirked down at him, his hand reaching down and wrapping around Lance’s neck, just resting there. He laughed as Lance froze in terror. “What’s the matter, pretty boy?”_

_And then his hand squeezed, forcing the air from Lance’s lungs._

_He couldn’t breath, he couldn’t breath, he couldn’t--_

“Lance!” Keith called, breaking through his erratic thoughts.

He bolted up from his bed, breath stuttering in his chest. Lance’s eyes darted around the room, taking in all he could as his legs curled up close to his chest. His hands began to rub at the blankets around him, feeling the soft plushness instead of rough wool. 

‘I’m not there, I’m not there,’ he reassured himself. Finally, his eyes locked onto Keith.

“K-keith?” Lance croaked out, voice hoarse. 

‘Oh God, was I screaming?’ Lance thought.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Keith replied, scooting closer. Lance flinched, eyes locking onto Keith’s hands. Keith looked him up and down, taking in the frazzled look in Lance’s eyes, his trembling frame, the way his breathing sped up. Slowly, Keith backed away. “Do you… do you want me to go?” he asked, hesitation clear in his voice. Lance could help but give a small smile, knowing Keith was probably way out of his comfort zone. He shook his head. 

“No,” he said quickly. “No, just… stay there… for a bit.” 

The two sat in silence as Lance slowly pieced himself back together.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Keith finally whispered, his eyes full of concern as he looked Lance over.

Lance shot him a smile, though shaky, and shook his head.

“No, but… thank you… for staying,” Lance whispered back. Keith paused for a moment, gears whirling in his head, before he slowly nodded.

“Of course,” he said, getting up from the bed. He walked over to the door, pausing for a second before turning back. “You can… come to us. If you need us. We’re all here for you,” he said, voice trembling slightly. Lance hummed back, trying his best to keep a pleasant look on his face.

“Right. I know that,” he said, voice already seeming to regain it’s confidence. Keith looked him over one last time, seeming to give Lance one last chance before he left, but Lance just stared back passively, the small smile firm on his face. Keith nodded again, then left.

Just as the door closed, the tears Lance had been holding back dripped down his cheeks.

Lance stuttered out a breath, a self-deprecating smile taking over his face. 

“My legs hurt,” he muttered into his blankets. 

~+~

“Keith, Lance, you two will start us off for today,” Shiro said. 

“Don’t get your butt whooped--again,” Pidge called out sarcastically over to Lance. Hunk gave a snort, but tried to cover it up with a cough. Lance whipped around to her, giving an overly dramatic hurt look.

“How dare! Just you watch, I’m gonna make you eat those words,” he said as he joined Keith on the mats. They both stood across from each other, looking the other down for signs of weaknesses. Lance could only hope he was far enough away that Keith couldn’t see his legs shaking. The pain had come for him again last night, amping it up to where Lance thought he might just throw up before going back to a more manageable level. Lance knew it wasn’t a good sign, but he couldn’t bring himself to share what was such a secret part of his life. Lance shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts and focus less on the pain in his legs and more on Keith. 

Keith struck just at that moment. Lance dodged his punch, lowering his body and sweeping his leg to knock him over. Instead of connecting, however, Keith catapulted over him and landed behind. Lance rolled forward, spinning just in time to dodge the second punch aimed for his face. They went at it for a few minutes--kicking, punching, dodging, and evading. They separated, sweat pouring down both of their faces. Lance was proud to say that he had become far better at hand to hand then when they’d first got up here. Both tensed, ready to go back into the rhythm of fighting, when Lance’s chest seemed to do a weird flip flop. Keith darted forward, but stopped when Lance held his hand up. 

“Lance…?” Keith asked, only to dart forward as Lance tipped forward. Keith caught him by the shoulders just as a hacking cough seemed to erupt from his chest. Lance used both hands to cover his mouth as he coughed and coughed. He could hear his friends shout his name and felt as they appeared beside him, but all he could seem to focus on was the fear slowly creeping through his body as his coughing seemed to never waver. Finally, it came to an end, but that was when he noticed a wetness on his palms. He pulled his hands away from his mouth only to be greeted by a bright red. 

“Fuck.” 

~+~

“Fuck,” Lance coughed out before his eyes closed and he slumped forward, blood slowly dripping from his mouth. They all staired in mute horror, not understanding what was happening. Nothing had seemed wrong with Lance until that moment!

It was Shiro who finally snapped everyone out of their daze. “Guys! We have to get him to a pod,” he said as he leaned down to grab Lance off of Keith. He quickly adjusted him in his arms before sprinting down to the med bay. Luckily, Coran had been in the observation booth and had already seen what had gone down. There was a table prepared for them when Shiro arrived. He laid Lance down before helping Coran take off his armour. They’d gotten most of the outer layer off before the rest of the team burst in. 

“Hunk, help me flip him over so we can get the flight suit off and the med one on,” Shiro commanded quickly. Hunk nodded, and together they flipped Lance and unzipped him from the suit. None were prepared for what they saw underneath. 

Dark, swirling designs covered Lance from head to toe, curling up from his arms, twisting over his chest, down his legs, and ending on the bottoms of his feet. They all stared in shock for a moment, now realizing that none of them had ever seen Lance without clothing covering him from top to bottom. He never even wore a tank top or shorts. 

“What the… “ Keith mumbled.

“We can ask him about when he wakes up, guys. We have to keep going,” Shiro snapped. 

Finally, they got him safely loaded into one of the pods. Coran pulled up a screen, looking over the information the full body scan presented, searching for whatever it was that could possibly be wrong with Lance. “Well, that’s strange…”

“What? What’s wrong with him?” Hunk asked, worry evident in his voice.

“Well, it seems like our number 5 isn’t actually human,” Coran said as he tapped away at the screen, eyebrows furrowing and mustache twitching.

The paladins surrounding Coran stared back at him in shock, eyes flitting between him and the pod.

“What. No that can’t be,” Pidge finally said, breaking the silence. 

“Yes, indeed it is true. Let’s see here… yes! There once was a planet that contained a species that would overtake others bodies and force them to live under the planet's dominant liquid--for Earth that would be… H2O,” Coran explained. “I’d thought they’d been extinct for zlinows, but it seems like some managed to get to Earth,” Coran’s mustache twitched once more as he looked back to the screen, “it appears that our Lance has been living with this being in him for so long that they are now completely bonded. There’s no way to separate them.”

The others took in the information slowly, looking back to the past to see if they could spot any times Lance had shown signs of being… well, a mermaid. None could come up with any, this revelation shocking to them all. Of course, Keith broke the silence first. 

“Well why did he blacked out?”

Coran gave a few taps, looking over the information. A shadow seemed to cast itself over his face. “He’s been away from water for so long the alien is reatlating… he’s probably been in extreme pain for a long time now.”

A look of horror crossed the faces of everyone present. No one had noticed. Lance always seemed to have a smile on his face. It was hard to imagine he was in physical pain the whole time, but the team was beginning to realize that maybe they couldn’t read the blue paladin as well as they all thought. 

“Well, let’s get him in some H2O and then we can talk to him some more,” Shiro said.

~+~

Lance had never felt such intense relief in his entire life. As he slowly came to, his mind flashed back to the years he’d spent drifting on the ocean floor, chasing around colorful fish without a care in the world, the sunlight sparkling around him as he slept on the soft sand, listening to the music the ocean created around him. He wanted to stay down in the water forever. However, as he floated… wherever he was, he heard someone calling his name. It sounded a lot like Coran, and while he dearly wished to sleep some more, Lance could never ignore Coran. 

Lance slowly opened his eyes, finding himself actually surrounded by water. Real water! H2O! Not a dream! The realization sent a shock through his system and Lance quickly broke the surface of the water, finding himself in a pool.

Lance scanned the area, easily finding Coran standing by the edge, a look of relief on his face. “Coran, why am I in a pool?” Lance asked, confusion clear in his voice.

“My boy,” Coran started, clearly exasperated, “you collapse.”

Lance paused on making his way over to Coran, looking down into the water. “Oh.”

“Yes,” Coran continued, not allowing Lance to catch a break, “you should have told everyone sooner about your special needs.”

Lance sunk a little into the water, knowing Coran was right. The older Altean stood there, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the young man float easily in the water with a critical eye. He sighed, shaking his head before giving a smile. 

“Yes well, everyone would very much like to talk with you. And they aren't angry, just curious!” Coran assured, seeing the look of panic cross Lance’s face.

“Right, yeah… I should probably do that.” Lance said hesitantly before pulling himself up over the edge of the pool, no pain to be found in his legs anymore. Coran gave him another smile, handing him a towel before leading Lance to the common room. 

Lance tilted his head as his eyes scan the room, noting that everyone was sitting on one side of the couches while the other side remained vacant. ‘This is going to be an interrogation,’ Lance couldn’t help but think fondly. 

“Hi everyone,” Lance said, drawing all eyes to him as he gave a small wave. Pidge jumped up from her spot on the couch, rushing over to him and almost knocking him over as she barreled into his center, hugging him tight.

“Lance, holy shit you scared the crap out of us!” She yelled into his stomach. Lance stood in shock for a moment, staring down wided eyed at Pidge before giving a small smile, arms quickly wrapping around her.

“Sorry Pidge,” he whispered down to her. She gave him one last squeeze before dragging him over to the couch, forcing him to sit down in front of her before immediately jumping into her questions.

“So how long have you been a mermaid?” She asked with full seriousness. Lance couldn’t help but pause again, staring her down for a second. Everyone in the room froze, sitting on the edge of their seats for his answer, only to be startled when Lance began to laugh, unable to hold himself back. He sighed, looking off to the side as he tapped his chin.

“Probably a few hundred years? Give or take,” he answered.

“What!?” Pidge yelled, her eyes lighting up already. 

“Yep,” Lance replied, leaning back just a bit.

“Holy shit,” she whispered, seeming to run the numbers. “So, like, how old are you exactly?”

“Well… this,” Lance said as he gestured to himself, “happened to me in 1695, so… I have no idea. Really old? I stopped keeping track a while ago,” he said with a shrug. 

“That would explain why you and the alien are so closely bonded,” Pidge said, pointing over Lance's shoulder and at Coran. Lance’s nose scrunched as he turned to look at the Altean. 

“The what now?”

“The alien,” Coran said, raising a pointed finger in the air and waving it around. “Your body was possessed by an alien that overtakes the host's body and forces them to live under the planet's dominant liquid.”

Oh,” Lance said, his eyes widening in surprise. “Makes since, I suppose. Is that why I have these markings?” He asked, pointing down to his arms. Coran nodded.

“How did you turn into a mermaid?” Shiro asked, drawing the attention back to the topic at hand. Lance turned slowly, the atmosphere around him suddenly changing.

“Lance?” 

He wouldn’t look up to meet anyone's eyes.

“Oh well, when I was still human,” he began, his voice light, though one look at his clouded eyes told this wasn’t going to be good, “pirates were a really big thing. My dad was a merchant, and one day our ship was attacked…” he paused, taking in a breath, “They… took me in… for a while… and when they were finished they threw me overboard,” he said with a shrug.

The world around them all seemed to pause, before Hunk broke the silence.

“Oh Lance…”

Finally, Lance met their eyes, but it seemed like a wall had gone up between them.

“It’s fine, it happened a long time ago!” He said with a wave of his hands. 

“But you still get nightmares,” Keith stated simply. Lance looked over to him sharply, before looking back down to the ground. He hummed, neither confirming nor denying, and while everyone knew they’d talk about it later, they also realized now wasn’t the time.

“You’re always talking about coming from a big family…” Allura said, breaking the tension in the air. Lance’s head shot up, an excited gleam in his eyes.

“I do! Though not necessarily biological… you’d be surprised by the amount of mermaids living amongst people! I mean, the only thing that really separates us are these markings. No fish-y tails to be seen,” he said with a grin.

“This is so cool!” Pidge cheered, lightening up the atmosphere even more. Lance laughed loudly before standing. He quickly ruffled her hair before moving towards the door.

“Well, if that’s all the questions for now, I’m gonna go take a dip!”

~+~

Lance slipped into the pool, sinking slowly to the bottom. The floor was cold, and there was no sand nor plant life to be seen, making Lance feel a little out of place. ‘I wonder if…’

~+~

Lance slept peacefully at the bottom of his pool, laying on a bed of sand as the alien plant life surrounding him swayed to and fro. The others had helped him find quite a lot, and every day his little pool was feeling more and more like home. 

Keith walked silently into the room, scanning the water in search of Lance. Breakfast was ready, and everyone was tired of waiting for their favorite merman to get up.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always welcomed and appreciated!!! 💕💕💕💕


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